stone from Slovakia

Hello.
This stone comes from the Danube River in Slovakia.What is your opinion on this stone?
Is it suitable for presentation as suiseki? Daiza is made of poplar wood, stained mahagony.
Thank you for your comments.
Have a nice day. Vlado

Greetings Vlado,

It is a beautiful stone which looks to be jade/jasper. I don't believe I've ever seen a stone from the Danube, which I've always pictured as being very deep.

Your daiza is very good and displays the stone well. The third photo is to me the best and reminds me of a glacier moving down into the sea.

Thank you for showing and do you have more?

Norma

Hi Vlado
that is a fantastic stone,it looks like a giant's foot and the daiza is very good too,like Norma I also think picture 3 is the best view.
Regards Bill

Beautiful, interesting stone.
I am curious about what it is. The chip at the base makes it look like limestone but I've never seen limestone look so hard and glossy. You didn't put some kind of finish or varnish on it , did you?

Hi friends.
Thank you for your good comments.
Stone was only washed with water. It is probably limonite, containing iron.It is not varnished.
Luster is natural. Stone is hard and it is quite heavy. I have this stone for several years, only daiza was made now.
I will present other stones that I have.
Once again thank you.
(sorry if my english is not quite OK)

Vlado

..here is another stone, it is from Vltava River in Prague. Represents a stone stairway - Dan Seki. Daiza is made of beech wood.
This stone has a smooth surface and mat color.This is my new stone, I have it only one year.
I am pleased that my stones are intersting for you.
Greetings Vlado.

Each view is so different, it is hard to believe it is the same stone. The second and fourth makes me think of a woman curled up on her side. In the second view she is wrap around something. Thank you for sharing.

What excellent presentations. Your crafted daiza & photography in addition to the engaging stones are a delight.

Carolee caught the images I like best. The prostrate figure (if you see it as that) in the 4th photo is an especially striking image from the angle it is shot. Most suiseki are viewed from center & front as well as somewhat above the stone. Jim Greaves (California Aiseki Kai) recently (in Washington DC) placed a stone that looked like a figure atop a raised multi-tier stand. From that angle, the stone could only be recognized as a landscape-- it is in his exhibition book Beyond the Black Mountain.

Are you in the community where Keral Serak & Tom Homolo share stones? They seem to be generous stone community friends & have shared on IBC in the past.

I'll offer that the skill with fitting and design seen with your stones suggest cabinet-grade hardwood as an economical choice in the long haul. These daiza look like hardwood to me. If made of softer woods, they'll bruise easily. If the wood's color comes mainly from dye (water or alcohol based) or stain (often oil-based), your care in handling will need to be exceptional. It is common for stones' seats to become a bit worn from moving in & out of the house or to meetings and exhibits.

The seating of the second stone expresses flexibility which is seldom shared. THANK YOU for sharing!

Dear all,

After what seemed an aethernal waiting, all and new stone lovers are again in the room.
As a tilting fanatic, let me suggest some alternative views:
stone 1: I like the texture, colour and 'patina' of the stone; however I do not feel comfortable with the placing. But, when looking at the last photo, I question whether the slanting slope could be the bottom of the stone, so providing a change for a nice yamagata.
stone 2: it appears a bit too monotonous in colour and heavy looking. But when looking the first photo and trying to imagine the stone as seen from above, I find that, if portrayed vertically (prove to rotate 90º counterclockwise the photo), it would offer two images to chose: a human figure or a high dan seki (heaven steps), both rather stylized.
Of course, live watching is often quite different from that on photos.
Friendly regards,
Jesus

Hi Jesus... I like Vlado's choices while appreciating that your practiced eye adds options worth considering.

A stone is the color that it is. I can understand someone distracted by its sheen, but wonder at thinking the color is "monotonous." The photos suggests subtle, considerable variance in reflectiveness, saturation and hue.

For suiseki, a purist might prefer less variance rather than more. In strict suiseki practice, the landscape is preferred over the figure-- especially when it can be seated better. As you note a "high danseki" would be stylized image-- teetering over a modest daiza awkwardly or buried considerably in a deep suiban. The landscape-view suiseki would be a ni dan doha-ishi "two-step slope (or plateau) stone" since its top is rounded rather than flat.

As an uptilted figure stone, the daiza could be deeper & less tucked-under. It is a possibility. Better viewing stones are not perfected in contour, so I prefer the viewing stone that can suggest a landscape or figure (or a landscape view reminiscent of a figure-- e.g., " 'Sleeping Man' Mountain" or " 'Prone Lady' Massive Landscape Rock"). The best suiseki are seldom ideal in contour, either. Guidelines are better for learning than judging.

Good day to all.
Chris thank you ,, Sleeping Man Mountain,, is appropriate name for my stone. I am happy that there is a discussion about my stones.
Here are another type of stones - Animal shaped stones , that are my favorite.
The first stone is a bear (text in the picture is in Slovak language and means :Bear - Dobutsu seki - animal shaped stone )
The second stone is a seal. (The back side of this stone could be as sitting monk with black cap
They booth comes from Danube river.
Have a nice day.



back side

The seals

Hi Vlado,

The seal stone is perfect...even the daiza feet look like seal flippers ! How wonderful that you found a photo that is a "twin" of your stone!! How long have you been collecting stones and do you carve all the daiza?

Norma

Thank you Norma.
Yes, all daiza is my work. I colect stones for over 6-7 years,I have a lot of stones but I have not daiza for all of them.
And here is a stone I think that looks like rocks in Monument valley.




nice day
vlado

Hi Vlado... When sharing these two figure stones in an intimate setting, the atmosphere/tone/feeling of place reflecting emotion shared between your heart & a viewer’s must be felt. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with Norma-- especially in regard to the seal stone & its daiza's subtle seal flukes. FWIW (and I prefer your reading!), the bear is also in the simple form of a Japanese courtiers eboshi hat (a better match if the form were found in the color black).

The photos of seals are excellent, too, but they are not very helpful for my appreciation. Photos of likeness distract for exhibition of a stone unless a stone's projected image is so indistinct or unknown as to require a source for reference. In those cases, a photo can help. Closeness of your seal photo to the stone is an amazing likeness which can be a strong attraction for reading/subject-matter interpretation, but it can distract from appreciation of the stone as an object creating atmosphere/tone/feeling.

Text description can also draw away from the immediate power of viewing an object. "Naming" can either draw-away-from or add-to an image's appreciation; it substantially adds if expressing an unobvious but strikingly-apt impression.

I like your "Monument Rocks" stone but immediately imagine a scene from Dante with souls rising up a circular spiral (reverse vortex) in purgatory. In this case, you share an stone appreciating one view & I receive the stone initially appreciating another view. Since you are host, I accept the taste you project though the photo distracts from shared feeling, for me.

Do you really want your landscape-view or natural object stones to be compared for exacting detail to particular scenes or objects? Getting too close to an exacting image detracts from a stone's evocative power. The Crespi Collection in Italy has Chinese pattern stones so complex & exacting that they are almost photographic likenesses. They are natural curiosities but not very appealing in tone.

Hi Chris.
Thank you for an interesting view on my work.Every opinion is important for my work.
I think that in making suiseki I am still a beginner for a few years .
And what do you think about this stone ?



Vlado

Hi Vlado... We share appreciation with an open perspective. Your well-chosen stones mounted very well are a joy for me. Thanks for sharing another.

The Piedmont Uplands plateau (USA) with its rolling landscape is what I see when traveling north or west from my hometown Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is at the fall-line of the James River between the Coastal Plain & the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains are the source for most locally collected stones.

In a variety of seasons, the Piedmont Uplands's subdued contour of hills is clothed in changing textures, hues & saturation of light. A momentary image is created by weather, light, humidity, time-of-day et al.. It is striking when noted aesthetically. Your stone expresses the same feeling of modestly nuanced beauty at the angles from which you have photographed.

Would you consider photographing front, center & somewhat above the stones you display as they would be seen on a footed stand at a seiza "sitting-on-your-heels position" in a tokonoma. The stand isn't important but the relative viewing angle might be. The low angle from which several stones are photographed suggest how we see an actual landscape, but it feels as though the suiseki's top is hidden, for me. It doesn't suggest the stone's depth beyond its crest (horizon) very well. Your photos are great, but this could further elevate them.

Milan displayed a series of stones leading off with a coarse, grey plateau stone seen from below its plateau. That prevents appreciation because the important line of the plateau reaching the bottom of the distant peak is hidden. In that case, the viewing angle substantially decreased potential for appreciation. The back edge of a flat plateau before it falls needs to be seen.

Dear suiseki friends.
Here is a next stone from my little collection of suiseki. It comes from Fella river in Italy.
Vlado Kamocsai.

Another well-presented stone, Vlado. When a stone is presented in a close-fitting and well-designed daiza, the viewer is encouraged to find expression through it. The nice dark colors requests an explanation for the white inclusion as the stone's shape creates an allusion. I imagine "Moon on the Mountain Peak" as the atmosphere created.

Dear suiseki lovers.
This is my last finished stone. It comes from Vltava river.
vlado

hello vlado

..hi peter, how are you ? How about send here some pictures of your stone ?
I thing that,s would be very interesting.

Hi Peter. Hi Vlado.

Are Peter's stones are as nice (& as nicely mounted!!!) as yours, Vlado? Then, IBC's old friends Keral Serak & Tomas Homola (Czech Republic enthusiasts) will be blushing with pride. I'll be blushing, too, because it is in cross-cultural friendship & sharing that we have most to learn.

Thanks for thinking of the Internet Bonsai Club when sharing stone images & thoughts.

Hi Chris.
Thank you very much for compliment. Peter has many nice stones from area near by Martin town (Slovak republic).He started with suiseki probably a two years ago.Peter is beginner as me, but he is very skilful.He won a regional internet competition with one of his stone.We are in contact with Tomáš Homola. He is very helpful for us. He has a vast amount of knowledge about suiseki.
Have a nice day.
Vlado .( If there are a mistakes in my english, I am sorry )
This is a Peters winning stone.

G'day Vlado...

Wonderful Stones you are showing...

I particularly like your seal and your Monument Valley.

The seal reminds me of some of the work of widely know California artist, Bennie Bufano. Look at:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22Bennie+Bufano%22&start=30&sa=N

He also has a seal displayed in the water, about 40-50 yards from the beach in San Francisco Bay.

The "texture" of your Monument Valley reminds me of the Devils Postpile National Monument in California's Southern Sierra Mountains. See what I mean at:
http://www.nps.gov/depo/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm?eid=259628&root_aId=549#e_259628

Pat…mounted on my trusty stead, riding off wildly in all directions…

Hi ,,bonsaistud,,.
Devils Postpile is very interesting. In Slovak rep. is also similar monument, near by Lucenec town. Its name is Šomoška.




vlado